Russian diamond miner ALROSA today announced a net loss for 2014 of 16.8 billion rubles ($285 million) due to increased foreign exchange losses resulting from the revaluation of the US-denominated part of the debt portfolio due to the depreciation of the Russian currency in 2014.

Russian diamond miner Alrosa today began ore mining at the Botuobinskaya kimberlite pipe at its Nyurba Mining and Processing Division in the Republic of Sahka (Yakutia). The pipe is the first new pipe to become active in Yakutia in the past 10 years.

The pipe, which will be developed as an open pit mine, is expected to produce 230,000 tons of ore and about 1 million carats of rough diamonds this year. When the deposit reaches its design capacity of 400,000 tons of ore a year, diamond production is expected to exceed 2 million carats a year.

The first World Diamond Conference, held November 11-12 in New Delhi, provided a comprehensive discussions on generic marketing of diamonds, industry financing, rough and polished diamond supply and pricing and corporate social responsibility.

Alex Popov, chairman of the World Diamond Mark Foundation (WDMF), said that the conference exceeded expectations. "The topic of generic marketing was the golden thread that ran through all the discussions and bound the various presentations and speeches together. This was also the first time that retail jewellers and brands featured prominently, presenting diamond industry members with valuable insights.

The two-day World Diamond Conference in India started on Thursday morning with speakers providing a general view of the state of the diamond markets and talking about the need for generic marketing campaign for diamonds and diamond jewelry.

The main event was the joint appearance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The management of Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa has held its annual meeting with long-term customers in order to discuss the preliminary results for 2014 and share views on the diamond market.

The attendees agreed that the long-term supply practice used by Alrosa since 2009 has proved its efficiency. Such contracts guarantee stable supplies of rough stones, provide a hedge against diamond prices volatility and enable both the company and its clients to do long-term business planning, the firm said in a statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Nahendra Modi will be the keynote speakers at the inaugural World Diamond Conference in India later this month.

Leading officials of diamond and jewelry companies and organizations will be taking part in the Delhi conference on December 11 and 12 to discuss the future consumer market for polished diamonds and diamond jewelry, and to debate the tools and measures needed to create demand among younger consumers in particular for diamonds.

Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa is considering the possibility of entering into long-term contracts for the supply of polished diamonds or a joint venture with some large retailers.

"A year ago we started test work to optimize our cutting facilities and redistribute the assortment inside the country depending on the cost of its treatment," vice president Andrey Polyakov told IDEX Online

Alrosa has published its Corporate Social Responsibility Report for 2013, stressing its position as the largest diamond producer in the world.

In 2013, the Alrosa Group fully delivered on its targets in implementing the company’s production development program, the firm said. Having mined 36.9 million carats of rough diamonds, a 7 percent increase year-on-year, the firm is the world’s leading rough diamond producer by volume.

The oldest factory in Russia, Petrodvorets Watch Factory «Raketa», founded by Peter the Great in 1721, producing watches under the brand «Raketa» in honor of Yuri Gagarin since 1961 has become an unusual order to produce a monumental clocks for “Central Detsky Magazin” on the Lubyanka square, in front of the FSB (KGB) building.

On May 28, an extraordinary general meeting of the Association “The Guild of Jewellers of Russia” took place. The Council of the Association submitted updated Organization Charter and Regulations on the Council, which after discussions were adopted by a majority vote. In his speech, the Chairman of the Council of the Association “The Guild of Jewellers of Russia” G.G. Gevorkyan spoke about the results of the International Jewellery Congress of CIBJO, which, on May 17-21, was for the first time held in Moscow and became a real historical event for Russia’s jewellery industry.

On May 22, at 10.00, a final press conference on the results of the World CIBJO Congress, for the first time held in Moscow through May 17-21, on the invitation of “The Guild of Jewellers of Russia”, took place in the press center of ITAR TASS.

The journalists’ questions were answered by: CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, Head of Russian State Depository for Precious Metals and Gems Andrey Yurin, Chairman of the Association “The Guild of Jewellers of Russia” Gagik Gevorkyan, President of the National Fund of Development of Jewellery Art, an executive secretary of CIBJO Congress in Moscow Galina Ananyina, Head of Chair of Technologies of Art Processing of Materials of Moscow State Mining University Evgeny Melnikov.